Polyvinyl chloride resins when calendered or extruded give products which are very smooth and thus have a glossy finish. For many end uses this glossy finish is desirable, such as packaging films and clear containers. When a rough or dull finish, which is often referred to as a matte finish, is required, it has been suggested that crosslinking the PVC resin would give such a surface. Some end users find the matte finish desirable for their products. Crosslinking the PVC resin makes the resin more rubbery thus resulting in the resin being capable of giving a matte finish. Crosslinked resins can also offer advantages in other properties such as wear resistance.
Many applications where crosslinked resins would be desirable require that the resin be mixed with large amounts of plasticizers. PVC resins normally have porosity which allows the resins to absorb plasticizers. Crosslinking a resin detrimentally effects the ability of a resin to absorb plasticizer quickly. Although the crosslinked resins have porosity, the plasticizer does not incorporate as quickly as it does in a non-crosslinked resin having the same amount of porosity. This creates a problem in that an extra amount of time is required to incorporate the plasticizer. This time is normally referred to as "powder mix time".
It would be desirable to have a crosslinked PVC resin which would quickly absorb plasticizers thereby having a fast powder mix time.